10 Day Trips from Québec City

With summer upon us, it's time to to start looking for diversions that can give us breathers from the heat (real and imagined) of the city. Even Québec City, despite its cool breezes, modest tempartures and year-long 400th anniversary celebrations, warrants an escape plan or two, if for no other reason than to exchange brick and cobblestone for the embrace of the lovely countryside.

If logistics make spending too much time in the car impractical, take solace in the fact that plenty of attractions are reachable from Québec City in less than an hour.

The first – the 84 meter high falls at the confluence of the Montmorency and St. Lawrence Rivers – you can almost see (and hear) from the stately Fairmont Le Château Frontenacý's promenade. Less than 30 minutes east off Autoroute 40, the Parc de la Chute Montmorency has much to recommend it as a day-trip option, including a topnotch regional vistor center / gift shop and terrific views of the falls granted by an aerial tram and a suspension bridge spanning their crest (not recommended for acrophobes). For the physically fit, there's also a network of steep staircases and overlooks that offer leg-weary climbers several different perspectives of the captivating cascades.

Just up the road, in the lovely village of Ste-Anne-Beaupré, the enormous Basilique de Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré welcomes visitors of all faiths and is open daily for tours. One of Canada's most prominent Catholic sanctuaries, Sainte-Anne has been credited with numerous miracles since opening its doors in 1876. Not surprisingly, some half-a-million people from all over the world make pilgrimages here each year.

Soul cleansed, move on to one (or two, depending on your time) of Ste-Anne's other noteworthy stops. Spectacular Canyon Sainte-Anne was formed as the Sainte-Anne-Du-Nord River carved a deep, dramatic gorge into the Québec landscape. Trails, footbridges, and suspension bridges reward the visitors with amazing insight into how Mother Nature uses water and gravity to forge a landscape.

Less of a geology lesson (but no less fun), the Mont-Sainte-Anne Resort is natural playground that stays in the crosshairs of the adventuresome throughout the year. In the summer, there's no shortage of things to do on the mountain, from mountain biking and camping to golfing and paragliding. Even the sled dogs get into the act – their Canin Village lets visitors get up close and personal with the 65 sled dogs who "summer" on the mountain's summit.